Driven by cost factors, as well as the need to overcome the hazards and complexities associated with joining and switching of multi-circuit cables in deep oceanic environments, the industry was first introduced to Wet-Mateable Connectors (WMC) in the early 1960's. The earliest systems enabled the mating of electrical contacts, in an undersea environment through the use of electrical contacts protected by a dense grease medium, which was then expelled during the process of connection. This wet-connection capability made possible more complex system architectures, but was limited by the inability to disconnect or to reconnect such circuits in under-water conditions.
By the 1970's the next phase of under-sea connector development brought to market, commercially viable and fully wet-mateable electrical connection mechanisms. These connectors offered the operator the ability to repeatedly plug and unplug electrical connections, in deeply submerged conditions, either by the manual manipulations of divers, or with the aid of (later developed) submersible, remote operated Vehicles (roVs), linked by control cables to a surface maintenance vessel. This technological advancement provided significantly enhanced system flexibility and made possible the development of large-scale, localized under-sea networks which had not previous been possible.
In the 1980's wet-mate connector technology was extended to single-channel, fiber-optic, and hybrid (electric-optic) applications. Then later, in the 1990's, multi-channel electric and “Joined Chamber” multi-channel fiber-optic and hybrid (electric-optic) connectors were introduced. Within several years, this technology became commercially viable, to where multi-channel electric, optic and electric-optic hybrid WMC configurations were marketed by several suppliers.